Lady and the Tramp spaghetti scene cels fetch $33,460

Lady and the Tramp spaghetti scene cels fetch $33,460

One of the most classic scenes in Disney history was presented for sale in the form of an original triple art cel set-up at Heritage Auctions on February 21.

The image from 1955’s The Lady and the Tramp is from the romantic ‘Bella Notte’ scene, in which the two loved-up dogs enjoy a plate of spaghetti in a back alley, and kiss as they both chew to the middle of the same piece of spaghetti.

The first cel shows Tramp with a mouthful of spaghetti, the second shows Lady alongside, and the third adds the tablecloth, plate and candle. The background is executed in oil, which is very rare.

Described by the auction house as ‘one of the most beloved and desirable scenes in the history of Disney animation’, the three cel set-up achieved $33,460.

Further top lots included cel set-ups from 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, such as a Snow White and the Old Hag production cel set-up which sold for $26,290. An Evil Queen cel with signed card sold for $25,095, and a production cel picturing Snow White surrounded by her seven friends as she sings ‘Some Day My Prince Will Come’ sold for $20,315.

Mickey Mouse is ever a Disney collector’s favourite, and a cel featuring Mickey as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice in Fantasia achieved $26,290. A black and white nitrate production cel from a Mickey Mouse 1931 short entitled Traffic Troubles achieved $19,120.

Direction of Animation Art for Heritage Jim Lentz commented: ‘It was great to see such an enthusiastic response to this wonderful art form. People loved the broad selection of hand-drawn and hand-painted animation art from all eras’.